Door slam muffler means



May 26, 1953 FRY 2,639,461

DOOR SLAM MUFFLER MEANS Filed Aug. 9, 1950 F113. ['3 FIE-1.1

flwsuroe BEN L. FRY

A OBNEY Patented May 26, 1953 DOOR SLAM MUFFLER MEANS Ben L. Fry, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Itsa Manufacturing 00., a corporation of Missouri Application August 9, 1950, Serial No. 178,500

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in means for minimizing or eliminating the noise attendant upon the slamming of doors and the like, as the door strikes against the stop por tions of the jamb upon closing movement of the door, and to absorb and minimize the rattle of the door against said stop portions.

The invention has among its objects, the production of a device of the kind described, that will be extremely simple to manufacture and tomount into operative position, which will have a minimum of parts of strong and durable material, shall be neat and attractive in appearance so as to harmonize with the adjacent fixtures of the room to which they might be applied, and which will be otherwise satisfactory and eflicient for use wherever deemed applicable.

A principal object of my invention is to so construct a device of the kind aforesaid, that wiil include a sponge rubber striking cushion to absorb and take up the shock and noise of the slam when closing the door, and wherein the said cushion compresses for substantially its entire length and width during such doormovement.

Another object of my invention is to provide a housing or casing for said compressibly resilient cushion, and which is adapted to be mounted in the desired position on the jamb, and of such size and shape to come fiush with the door-striking surface of the jamb, so that when the door is fully closed the cushion is entirely within the confines of said casing and the door abuts against the edges of said casing.

A further object of the invention is to so construct a buffer of the kind described, that it may be selectively mounted on the door jamb in either of two positions, as the user desires, namely, on the surface of said jamb, or in a mortise provided within said jamb, the buffer being reversible for said alternate mountings.

A still further object of my invention is to so construct said housing or casing for said cushion, that it will be in the form of a channel element, the cushion fitting snugly in the space between the side walls of said channel and extending substantially co-extensive with the longitudinal dimension of the same, said cushion extending outwardly a predetermined, but minor distance beyond the elongated edges of said side walls, so that said walls will act as a guide to permit the cushion to be compressed toward the bottom of the channel and to guide the cushion as the latter resiliently expands or retracts to normal position from its said compressed form,

said side Walls permitting said required freedom of movement of the cushion in its said travel.

An added object of this invention is to so construct said casing that the muilier may be mounted to engageably cooperate with the door and whereby a predetermined thickness of the cushion projects outwardly beyond said casing, so that the free edges of the casing will form a stop to engage the door to limit further compression of the cushion, as the ldOOl moves to its closed position.

Yet another object of my invention is to so construct said casing that it will have end walls at the opposite ends of said elongated side walls to thereby form a cup in which the cushion may ride and seat, so as to insure a true and planar surface engagement with said cushion as the latter is actuated, and insure a longer effective life for the buffer.

Still another object of the invention is to provide buffer means of the kind described, to be mounted two or more in spaced vertical relation along the door jamb, so that any irregularities in the planar surface of the striking portion of the door or its jamb, through warping or otherwise, will be taken care of, and insuring that the door will not strike its jamb at any point with sufficient force to cause slam.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described, and the uses mentioned, will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, as will be more clearly pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

To this end, my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, and as will be more clearly pointed out in the following description.

In the drawing, wherein like reference characters represent like or corresponding parts throughout the views,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a door pivoted along one edge, and of the framework that cooperates therewith, showing the plurality or set of buffers mounted on said jamb;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of said buffers ready for mounting into place;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the same as mounted within a mortise in the door jamb;

Figure 4 is a similar view, showing the muffler as mounted on the exterior surface of the door jamb; and

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional detail, showing the door in its closed position against the jamb, and the mufiier mounted as indicated in Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein I have illustrated a preferred form of my invention, there is shown a portion of a door I, of any size, shape and construction, although in the drawing, it is depicted as a screen door. As is customary, such a door may seat or close against a jamb 2 of the doorway-forming framework, and only that edge of the door that swings open and is closed, is illustrated, for the sake of convenience and clarity.

When such doors are not provided with some sort of bufier means that will absorb the shock of closing, there is more or less noise attendant upon each closing of the door, as the free edge of the latter slams shut against the cooperating stop portions of the jamb. This sort of noise is irritating, to say the least, and in some cases might interfere with the actual health of the hearer thereof, and for this reason ll have provided mufiler means that is intended to be interposed between the door and its jamb to absorb this noise and shock and which device will be hereinafter described.

At the outset, I wish to stress the fact that inasmuch as such portions of the building are made of materials which are apt to warp or otherwise become distorted from their original shapes, I have found it best to interpose more than one such buifer between the fixed jamb and the movable door, and in the many such installations actually made I have gotten the best results when three such mufiiers are used as a set, there being one muffier at about the mid-length or height of the jamb, and another one near each of the ends of the jamb. This manner of mounting gives a three-point contact between the door and its jamb, and which is just as good for all purposes, or is actually better, than if a continuous buffer extending the entire height of the jamb were to be used, and of course is much simpler to apply, is much cheaper, and is relatively inconspicuous when mounted in place.

Each of the buffer members of the set is of substantially identical construction, having a retainer, housing or casing and formed with a channel element that serves as a guide element having a pair Of elongated, spaced apart side walls 3-3, and with a connecting web or bottom wall 5 bridging across said side walls.

At the opposite ends of said channel element, there is an end wall or flange 5 of substantially the same height or depth as the side walls 33,

so that the free edges of said side and end walls lie in the same plane.

An elongated strip of some highly compressible, resilient material such as sponge rubber 6, and of a length substantially co-extensive with that of the distance between said end walls 5-5, is seated snugly within each channel element so as to be slidably movable bodily thereinto, the width of the insert being approximately co-extensive with the spacing between said opposed side walls 3-3,

so that said insert may be crowded and compressed for substantially its full length and depth into its holder, as illustrated in full lines in Fig. 5, when the door is fully closed, the dotted lines in said figure showing the extended position of the cushion when the door is in opened position.

It may be mentioned at this point that the thickness or depth of the cushion is so proportioned in relation to the channel element, that when the cushion seats against the bottom of the latter and is as yet uncompressed by the door, the

major portion of such cushion depth is entirely within said element, while only a minor portion of the height of the cushion projects outwardly beyond the free edges of its walls, this projecting portion being of any predetermined extent.

Extending from one of the side walls of the channel element, as continuations thereof, and lying in substantially the same plane therewith, are ears 1-7, there being one such car at each end of said side walls, somewhat as indicated, and each such ear is provided with a screw-receiving aperture 8 therethrough, to receive the fastening screws 8 for mounting the buffer to the jamb.

This mounting operation may be accomplished in either of two ways, namely by securing the buffer on the outer surface of the door jamb, as illustrated in Fig. 4, or by seating the buffer within a mortise that has been provided below the surface of said door jamb, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3.

When it is desired to mount the buffer on the exterior surface of the jamb, the side wall that carries said end ears is laid flat against said jamb area, with the entire buffer extending outwardly beyond said jamb, and the fastening screws are driven through the apertures in the ears, and into the woodwork of the jamb, taking care that the terminal or free edges of the side and end walls are approximately flush with the door-striking face of the jamb, with the predetermined portion of the cushion projecting beyond said striking portion of the jamb in the direction to receive the striking face of the door.

Now, when the door moves to its closed position, its free edge strikes against the projecting face of the cushion and compresses the latter throughout its body, to entirely within the confines of the channel element to firmly press against the bottom of the latter, and substantially the whole body of the cushion is compacted toward said seat.

Hence it is seen that the holder does not interfore in any manner with the compression and subsequent expansion of the cushion, as the cushion moves to either position, and therefore said holder is truly a guiding element and there is practically no tendency for transverse spreading of the cushion in its compacting movement.

As only a minor portion of the cushion projects outwardly beyond the channel, there is a true guiding of the cushion in its movement, and substantially free compressibility of the same, so that such a cushion will last for an unusually long period without requiring a replacement. As previously pointed out, the extent of compression of the cushion is limited by the free edges of the side and end walls, because as soon as the door strikes against said free edges, the latter will act as a stop or abutment against further compression or inward movement of the cushion.

When it is desired to go to the slight extra trouble of installing the set of buffers within mortises provided in the door jamb, and thereby render the buffers even more inconspicuous than otherwise, and prevent the possibility of a person striking against the projecting portion of the buiiers inadvertently while passing through the doorway, the buffer is simply reversed so that the end walls and one of the side walls lies within the mortise whereby the other side wall, that has the ear extensions may be laid flat against the side surface of the jamb, and then the fastening screws inserted through the apertures and into the jamb material as shown.

Hence it is seen that although the same side wall lies against the jamb surface in both positions of installation, in one case one face of said side wall is superimposed against said iamb sur face, while in the alternate position, the opposite face is placed flat against said jamb surface.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, arrangement, construction or combination, or uses herein shown or described, except as limited by the claims hereunto appended and the state of the art to which this invention appertains.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A buffer or placement between a door and its jamb, said buffer comprising an elongated channel element having spaced elongated side walls and end walls closing the opposite ends of said side walls, a highly compressible cushion snugly held between said side and end walls and extending substantially the full distance between the latter to guide said cushion into said channel element during its compression, said side walls being substantially co-extensive with the major portion of the width and length of said cushion whereby the outer edge of the latter projects a predetermined distance beyond the edges of said walls and the door-engaging surface of the jamb and is engageable by closure movement of said door to produce a compression of the cushion throughout its full depth to thereby force the outer edge of the cushion into the space between said channel walls and whereby further closure movement of the door will be limited by engagement with the free edges of all of said Walls and the door-engaging surface of the jamb, and ears projecting from the opposite ends of one of said side walls and lying in a plane entirely to one side of said cushion and provided with screw-receiving aperture whereby fastening screws may be inserted into said jamb from either face of said ears.

2. butler for placement between a door and its jarnb and comprising an elongated channel element having spaced apart elongated side walls, end walls bridging across the opposite ends of said side walls, a highly compressible cushion snugly held in place between all of said walls to guide the same into said channel during compression, said cushion being of substantially uniform width throughout its length, said side walls being coextensive with the major portion of the width and length of said cushion whereby the outer edge of the latter projects a predetermined distance outwardly beyond the edges of all of said walls and the door-engaging surface of the jamb and is engageable by closure of said door to produce a compression of the cushion throughout the entire volume of the same into the space between all of said channel walls and whereby further closing movement of the door will be limited by engagement with the free edges of said walls and the door-engaging surface of the jamb, and ears extending lengthwise from the ends of said side walls entirely beyond the ends of said cushion and lying in a common plane therewith and having apertures to receive fastener screws through said ears only for securing said buffer to said jarnb from either face of said ears, said apertures being entirely beyond said cushion so that said screws do not go through said cushion.

BEN L. FRY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 389,680 Van Allen Sept. 18, 1880 459,251 Hall Sept. 8, 1891 2,526,467 Fry Oct. 1'7, 1950 

